I'm a mum but people always think I'm my teen daughter's sister – it's such a boost, we share the same friends too

The Sun

17-06-2025

A MUM has revealed people regularly mistake her and her lookalike teenage daughter as sisters - and even stare in supermarkets.
Lisa Johnston said people are often "gobsmacked" when they learn she's 36 and mum to her 18-year-old "built-in best friend" Alicia Johnston.
3
3
The semi-permanent make-up artist was just 17 when she had Alicia and says people regularly stare in the supermarket when they hear her beautician daughter call her 'Mum'.
The lookalike pair, often mistaken as sisters on the school run, share clothes, make-up, shoes and even friends with one another.
The mum-of-two artist regularly posts TikTok videos with Alicia leaving baffled users scratching their heads as to whether they really are mum and daughter or not - something Lisa sees as a "confidence boost".
Lisa, from Glasgow, Scotland, said: "Everybody's a bit gobsmacked.
"We've been out a couple of times together at pubs and things like that and everybody can't believe it either. They're like, 'What? Are you friends or sisters?'.
"Someone once asked to see my ID because they couldn't believe it in one of the pubs we were at in town.
"We could be out doing a food shop or something and maybe Alicia will turn around and say, 'Mum, can I get this?'
"And you see people turn around and look as if to say, 'Mum?' They're really confused.
"People thought when I was picking Alicia up from school that it was her older sister.
I'm a 65-year-old gran but look so young people think I'm my daughter's twin - they're stunned when they hear the truth
"People were like, 'You're picking your daughter up? What?' I did used to just laugh it off.
"People say I look really young, it's quite nice actually, it's a confidence boost.
"It's nice to know that I've actually produced a mini me. A few people have said we're like 'copy and paste'.
"The more Alicia is getting older I can now see the big resemblance especially when we're doing the videos and things together. It is kind of like who's who?"
Age-defying Lisa credits a healthy lifestyle and avoiding unnecessary stress for her youthful looks.
She said: "Fitness and healthy eating is a big part of my lifestyle. I go to the gym five times a week.
"I just try not to get too stressed out. I take life as fun, we're all just living life.
"I don't get myself too riled up on anything, I think that's a big part as well.
"It really is like having a built-in best friend."
Youthful Lisa is also great pals with all of Alicia's pals - with daughter Alicia saying she's "part of the friendship group".
Alicia said: "My friends love coming over because my mum is like a friend. They'll just chat away to her.
"There will be times where I'm minding my own business and I'll get a phone call and they're like, 'I'm out with your mum right now.'
"She's part of the friendship group.
"I'm never really bothered when people mistake us for sisters, I think it's funny.
"I would say this only started when I was about 15. I was just starting TikTok and me and mum were making TikTok videos together sometimes.
"As I got older and I looked more like my mum, people were like, 'oh my God, you actually look so similar'.
"We've basically got the same make-up routine and everything. So it's actually good sharing make-up shoes, hair products, everything."
The pair share the same love of looking glam and Lisa has even taken an eyelash course so she can do her daughter's lashes on a budget.
Lisa said: "I ended up showing Alicia how to do them [lashes] as well so that was something that we do together.
"It was something I could pass down to her.
"I was like, 'as they get older, the girls will want things done and their mum can do it instead of spending hundreds of pounds'."
Social media users have been quick to share their confusion with some even questioning if they are really mother and daughter.
One user said: "That is not your mummy she looks in her 20s."